


A Week in Reykjavík

by lesbianwisdom



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, Gen, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-06-25 01:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19735192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianwisdom/pseuds/lesbianwisdom
Summary: After the crew returns from Homeworld and things begin to settle down, Ruby and Sapphire are finally able to take the honeymoon they so deserve. Meanwhile, with their leader off for a week, the other Crystal Gems try to keep the peace at home.





	1. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I hope you will all join me on what will be an adventure not just for our lovable cast, but for me as well. I never thought I would write a piece like this, so it's an experiment for me, and one which I am looking forward to! Since it's my first shot at something like this, I do hope you will bear with me. It's likely not extremely revolutionary for the rest of you all, being the talented authors that you are, but for me, it will be an Experience (tm).
> 
> Also, I'd been wanting to write a Rupphire honeymoon for ages, but could not for the life of me put anything together that felt satisfactory. Until I got this idea.
> 
> As you will notice, I am planning to write eight chapters, epilogue included. This is subject to change, but let's see how it goes. Unfortunately, I cannot guaranteed any type of regularity when it comes to updating.
> 
> The story, of course, features everyone's favorite newlyweds, as well as the rest of the Crystal Gem gang back in Beach City (and Greg).

It was a beautiful day at the beach. Warm and humid without being oppressive, buffered by a soothing summer breeze. Normally, a day like this would draw Steven - and anyone else he could woo into joining him - outside to enjoy the ocean. Up in the newly-renovated beach house overlooking the shore, the boy gazed longingly out the window next to the screen door. The long stretch of fine sand seemed like a canvas waiting to be filled with colorful creations, beckoning him. 

Yes, it was prime beach summer fun time. 

Today, however, he was otherwise occupied. 

Today was the day of the very extra special honeymoon send-off party he had spent all month planning, for a certain very extra special fusion in his life. In a scene that could only be described as joyfully chaotic, a small crowd had gathered in his home to assist - some more than others - with the preparations. 

Pearl’s culinary skills were impeccable as always, even if she refused to eat any of the goodies herself. Amethyst, with a long history of getting into all types of antics with Garnet, eagerly organized the games. Meanwhile, Peridot, Bismuth, and Lapis were put in charge of decorations, under the careful supervision of Steven and Connie ( _especially_ after the three gems had attempted to build an indoor kiddie lava pool; Steven loved going all out, but the line had to be drawn somewhere). Greg’s musical talents were in high demand, of course. And finally, Lion, Cat Steven, and Pumpkin provided an invaluable contribution, playing the part of the lovably distracting pets that are required of any party worth its salt. 

Though they tried to keep it a secret, Garnet ended up knowing about the whole thing beforehand. She was a good sport about it, though, and acted surprised for their benefit. Well, they couldn’t tell how shocked she truly was, but Steven liked to think that she was putting on a show. She was just that good of an actor, he decided. 

Apart from the botched surprise, the rest of the soirée was a total success. 

The hours passed quickly with all the festivities. The sun sank lower and lower into the sky, eventually kissing the edge of the ocean and painting the horizon pastel shades of pink and blue. 

It was nearing the time to say goodbye. 

Slowly, the party-goers gathered around the warp pad in front of the temple door. Garnet emerged from the ensemble, holding a single brown briefcase, and stepped on to the teleporter. This accessory was the only new addition to her regular jumpsuit and visors. She turned to face the others, her expression warm and relaxed.

“You all are in charge until I’m back,” she said. 

“You got it, boss!” Amethyst said, saluting solemnly. 

“You can count on us, Ma’am!” Connie echoed. Pearl nodded in satisfaction. 

“Yes, we have things under control.” The lithe gem’s voice was bright with confidence. “The un-corrupted gems are already settling nicely into their new rooms, thanks to Bismuth! I’m confident that this next week will run smoothly.” 

At that moment, Cat Steven cheerfully trotted up to the crowd. She was covered in sugary purple icing, leaving a trail of sticky kitten paw-prints in her wake. Lion followed, utterly unbothered. Each time he stepped on one of the kitten's paw prints, icing splattered farther across the wood floor, all while Pearl’s horrified eyes grew wider and wider. 

“Cat Steven fell into the cake,” Garnet observed dryly. 

“Ohhhh, yeah, uh, my b,” Amethyst said sheepishly. “This situation is entirely my fault.” She rubbed the back of her neck, not daring to take her eyes off the cats.

“I’ll say,” Pearl muttered, shooting Amethyst a sharp look. 

Greg, who was stationed in between Pearl and Amethyst, chuckled nervously and swept up the small feline in his arms before the mess became any worse. 

“It’s all good,” he said unconvincingly. “I’ll water your cat for you, no sweat!” As if to make his point, he patted the top of the kitten’s head. If he was bothered by icing that now graced his clothes and hands, he said nothing of it. 

As amused as Garnet was by the reference, she still hesitated. 

“I could always stay back if-,” she began, but Bismuth laughed heartily. 

“Don’t worry about it, you lovebirds,” she assured. “We can handle ourselves for a week! Isn’t that right?” She addressed this question to the two barn gems standing next to her. 

“Affirmative,” Peridot agreed. “We are more than capable of dividing tasks between us and carrying them out successfully, as we have proved in the past. There is absolutely no reason for you to be concerned, Garnet.” At her feet, Pumpkin yipped to signal her concurrence. Lapis gave a thumbs up, which Garnet returned.

“Go on, Sparky,” Bismuth continued. “You deserve a good, long break. Enjoy your nectar moon.”

“Honeymoon,” Connie whispered. 

“Yes, right.” Bismuth planted her hands on her hips and gave a wide grin. “Enjoy your honeyed moon.” 

Garnet silently surveyed the group. Finally, she nodded. 

“Very well. See you in a week.”

Steven, who had remained quiet until now, ran up to the warp pad and squeezed Garnet tight around the knees.

“Have a great time, Garnet!” he murmured. “I’ll miss you soooo much, but I hope it’s the most relaxing and most romantic vacation you ever experience!”

“I’ll miss you too,” Garnet cooed, hugging him back. "But I’ll be back soon. I love you.” She ruffled his hair fondly. With one last tender glance towards her family, Garnet exchanged a final round of goodbyes and warped away. 

“Well, then!” Pearl said after a few moments, commanding the group’s attention. “It’s time to clean up!” She clapped her hands firmly as her companions groaned. 

“Ugh, can’t I just put all the junk in my room, P?” Amethyst drawled. “My piles have been looking a little scant lately...”

“Absolutely not.”

~o~o~o~o~o~

Somewhere in the temple, a gust of hot, dry wind blasted through one end of a narrow, darkened, chamber. The wind sent wet debris - rocks, papers, scissors, various other knick-knacks - scattering through the tunnel-like room. A faint glow, a fiery color somewhere in between orange and red, illuminated the entrance on that side of the tunnel. 

From the other end of the elongated room, a flurry rushed in, bitterly frigid. Pieces of hail, all different shapes and sizes, were flung into the chamber, meeting the rest of the debris halfway. From this end, too, there was a light, which in some angles appeared silvery gray, and in others, an extremely pale blue. 

Two shadows emerged from either entrance, slowly moving closer and closer towards one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing suspicious ever happens in the temple. That wind probably means nothing - probably just some weird magic type stuff. 
> 
> Probably.


	2. A Scarf of Seven Colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a look at what our four core Crystal Gems are up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure I feel so great about this chapter, but hopefully upcoming ones are more exciting! I am always worried my writing is tedious or repetitive. Or both. 
> 
> But I've been working on it for so damn long! I'm ready to be done with it. :P Let me know what you think.
> 
> Also - this honeymoon is happening in Iceland, as per Estelle's comments in the podcast that Garnet would like to go there. I know next to nothing about Iceland, but have done some cursory research and tried to include small details here and there that make sense for the setting. It's helpful that Ruby and Sapphire are gems because it gives me some leeway in terms of how (un)realistic I get to be. I sincerely hope nothing I write in this work about Iceland is harmful/offensive to the people or the culture. If it is, please don't hesitate to let me know, and I will rectify the situation! 
> 
> (Apologies for any other glaring errors!)

“Man, not again!” 

Amethyst growled in frustration and kicked a rock across her room. With a resounding clang, the rock struck a stop sign sticking out of one of the room’s numerous trash piles. When it fell away, there was a huge dent in the red octagonal sheet of metal. 

Behind Amethyst, Steven gingerly picked his way around the rubbish strewn about. Most of it was damp, and all of it stunk of mildew. He winced when his sandal landed on some unknown rotten-smelling goop. He tried not to think about what it may have been, or how long ago Amethyst had found it. Quickly shaking it off the bottom of his shoe, he rushed to keep up with his companion. 

“Do you think Pearl was trying to clean up?” 

“Nah, this doesn’t look like something Pearl would do.” Amethyst examined a shard of glass that had lodged itself in the sole of her foot. “She hates seeing objects on the ground that don’t belong there. If she was trying to clean up, the piles would be more…” She tilted her head and tossed the glass piece aside. “...geometrical. Not randomly scattered across the floor.” 

“Yeah…” Steven agreed. “Also, even if it was Pearl, that wouldn’t explain the random hail storms you mentioned.” 

With a grunt, Amethyst heaved a stray chassis out of the way. 

“Yeah it wouldn’t,” she grumbled. “Besides, I thought Pearl finally stopped trying to come in here. I’ve told her a million times not to mess with my stuff. Like, _literally_ a million times!”

“But I thought you liked messing with your stuff?” 

“Wuh-? No, I mean like, don’t mess with it in the metaphorical- whatever! The point is, the mess _is_ the point!” She threw up her arms. “And if anyone but me is gonna mess with my stuff, it has to be on my watch.” 

The purple gem flopped down on the ground, an impressive feat considering there was hardly any part of it in this area that wasn’t buried by the remnants of her precious pile. She drew her right arm over her eyes and let out a mighty, rumbling groan.

“I like a mess, but this stuff is getting really weird, man, even for me.” 

Steven pursed his lips thoughtfully. 

“So for the past few days, you’ve just been finding random piles completely knocked over,” he recapped. “And you’re sure it hasn’t been you? I _have_ seen you kick your junk around before. Maybe you’ve been sleep… kicking?” 

“You already know this, dude, I only fake sleep,” Amethyst replied, waving her free hand dismissively. “If I was sleep-kicking, I would know.” 

“True,” Steven admitted, sighing. He plopped down on a worn-out sofa cushion and folded his legs closer to his chest, resting his head on his knees. “So what could it be?” he wondered aloud, mostly to himself.

“Isn’t that we’ve been trying to figure out?” There was no fire in her words; she sounded resigned more than anything else. A quiet pause followed, and then she spoke again. “Sure would be nice if we had someone who could predict what it is. You know, someone who maybe can… see the future? Hmm… don’t we know someone like that?”

“Amethyst!” Steven objected. 

“Okay, okay, fine,” Amethyst relented, “we’re not going to call Garnet. It’s not that big a deal. But still. We’d have figured this out by now if she was here.” 

“That may be true, but we made a Crystal Gem promise to not bother her, except if there’s an emergency”, Steven said determinedly. “Right now, the only thing on her mind should be _relaxation_.” He drew out the final word theatrically, spreading his arms in an imaginary rainbow over his head. “It’s our job as the Crystal Mystery Solvers to get to the bottom of this. And we _will_.” He punctuated his promise with a sunny smile.

Amethyst guffawed, causing a few stray strands of hairs to puff up over her face. 

“Crystal Mystery Solvers? When’d you come up with that?” 

“Just now. I thought we needed a cool team name.” 

“We already have one.” 

Steven shrugged cheerfully.

“You can never have too many.”

Amethyst’s cackle echoed throughout the room. She shape-shifted into a large fluffy cat and leapt on to Steven’s knees, where she circled for a few moments. Steven began to giggle. 

“H-hey, stop that! You know I’m ticklish!” 

“I like this new team name,” she decided, ignoring his pleas. Finally, she plopped down in his lap, belly up, legs outstretched, and tail twitching contentedly. Steven was able to relax at last. 

“Anyway, I think it’s almost lunch time,” Amethyst said, closing her eyes. 

“Uh huh.” Steven was only half-listening. He stared longingly at the glorious expanse of fur before him. Everything in him screamed to reach out and touch the belly. 

“I wonder if I can actually get Peridot to eat today.” 

So soft. 

“She came wicked close last time.” 

So warm. 

“Pearl says the lil' gremlin even tried tea the other day. Maybe I can start with that.”

So _cute_. 

“Well, whatever happens, I know it’s gonna be hi- _larious_.” 

Oh, how that feline tempted him so!

For probably the thousandth time in his life, Steven wondered why cats had to be so darn precious, yet so capricious (a word Connie had taught him). It was impossible to tell when Amethyst would be ok with her belly being pat, and when she would answer with teeth and claws. She looked calm enough now, though, so maybe he could risk it? 

He was so lost in trying to solve his dilemma that he started when Amethyst spoke again. 

“Dude, you gonna pet me or what?” 

His face lit up. That was all the encouragement he needed. 

“Thank youuuu,” he cooed, happy to pet away. Amethyst just purred. 

~o~o~o~o~o~

Love - in every sense of the word - was in the air.

Garnet could feel it as she strolled leisurely past the grandiose cathedral on a very busy city street. In her right hand, the briefcase swayed jovially back and forth. 

Festive parade-goers had donned their finest rainbow regalia for the Grand Reykjavik Pride March, merrily milling about and chattering joyously amongst themselves. A small group of people held up a large, glittery sign that read “Love makes a family - and we love our LGBTQ children!” in blocked rainbow lettering. Others blew shiny whistles, sounding like a chorus of songbirds welcoming a new day. One jolly-looking person wore a white T-shirt with the words “Free Hugs” written across the front and back. They seemed to be _quite_ popular, especially with the little ones, who excitedly launched themselves into the person’s arms for a warm embrace. 

Alongside the main road were little stalls, some with local vendors selling pride merchandise. Others belonged to organizations providing informational brochures about the LGBT community. Still others had volunteers stationed at them, handing out free goodies like rainbow beads or bracelets. 

“Hey, you there! With the square hair!” 

She turned around. Approaching her was a tall person wearing a belt around their waist which was lined with pockets, doubling as storage. Pretty _and_ practical. 

“You look like you could use a rainbow flag,” they said. As they came closer, they began to unfold a large rectangular rainbow flag they had pulled out from their belt. Garnet took note of the over-sized rainbow sunglasses resting on the bridge of the stranger’s nose. 

“Nice shades.” She gave a thumbs-up. The person flashed a wide grin, which Garnet couldn’t help but return, it was so joyful. 

“Hey, you too! Now hold on, this is going to be such a good look on you.” Leaning forward, they draped and knotted the soft fabric around Garnet’s shoulders, in cape-like fashion. They stepped back to admire their handiwork. “Oh, just look at you, it goes so well with those funky visors!” 

“Thank you, human,” Garnet said. The person chuckled. 

“You know, it’s oddly refreshing to hear that. To come out to Pride and know you’re not alone. Usually I feel so out-of-place… like some type of alien.” 

“Same.” 

The stranger simply threw their head back and laughed before re-entering the crowd, no doubt looking for another person upon whom they could bestow a flag.

Garnet held a corner of her new garb, absently rubbing it between her fingers. The fabric was soft and smooth and cool against her physical form. 

Despite her quip, the human’s comment truly had resonated with her. 

She thought about her beloved rag-tag bunch of Off Colors. She thought of all the gems who had been un-corrupted. She thought about the organic residents of beach city. How many times had they all looked up to her to make difficult decisions, even if she felt completely out of her depth? Shouldering the responsibilities of leading and protecting _was_ lonesome. In recent times, it felt like she had messed up at every turn. But she used to think she couldn’t ask anyone for guidance; by some unspoken agreement, to guide others had become and remained _her_ job. 

To that end, she mused, being a fusion in the midst of non-fusion gems was also isolating at times. 

But that’s why her community was so important. So that loneliness would never consume her. So that she would remember how each part of her family (much bigger now than it was before) was an Off-Color in some way; they each brought unique insights and experiences to the table. So that when she felt like giving up, she would know who she was fighting for, but also who was fighting for _her_ , knowledge which was just as necessary to survive.

So that she could take a break every once in a while, without feeling guilty over it. 

Love took time and work. To be alive meant accepting that not everything or everyone was perfect all the time, even yourself. Doing the right thing was often dangerous or unpopular. Standing by comrades, flaws and all, could be confusing and frustrating, no matter how much you loved them. Staying true to yourself and your values required immense courage. But all of this would always be worth the fight. 

It’s why she always had been drawn to the idea of Pride. After all, the same principles came into play here, didn’t they? The whole point was to deliver hope and remind people of their strength as a collective. 

Yes, everyone here knew a thing or two about feeling out-of-place, she decided. But they also knew a thing or two about surviving - and thriving - in the face of adversity. Just like her own family.

After perusing the stalls for a little while longer, Garnet made her way to the side of a wide, paved street that was the designated parade route. An enormous cheer erupted. Craning her neck, she caught a glimpse of the Grand Marshals ushering in the procession. She had arrived just in time for it to begin. 

Exactly as planned. 

~o~o~o~o~o~

Something looked... off about Pearl’s room, Steven realized. He was sitting with her on the main fountain, watching as she attempted to sort out a heap of armor and weaponry. 

This in and of itself was odd for the boy to witness. In all his time with the gems, he had never seen Pearl willingly allow her living space to become so disorderly. Normally, her items would be arranged in a neat circle around the circumference of the fountain’s top, ready to be summoned at a moment’s notice. 

“Oh, just look at this mess!" Pearl fretted. "It’ll take ages to put everything back where it belongs.” 

“Why’d you take it out in the first place?” Steven said curiously. 

“I didn’t!” She yanked out a hefty hammer and a massive sickle, the force of the mighty tug nearly sending her to the ground. “I came in here to fetch these tools for Bismuth, and found _that_.” Pearl steadied herself and came to stand next to Steven. She pointed behind him, over the edge of the fountain. After giving her a questioning look, he got on his knees and peered over the ledge. 

So _that’s_ what was off. 

“I went down to investigate,” Pearl said from above him, “and there is literally no moisture left in the air. It’s been sucked completely dry!” 

It was true. An entire fountain of water was missing. And in its stead was… sand. 

Vast stretches of sand that reminded Steven of a Beach City left barren when the ocean was stolen, all those months ago. At the edge of the horizon, the sand began to taper off, giving way to rock-like ground, dusty and cracked. All the water had just dried up. Steven could see that there were hundreds - if not thousands - more items deposited, presumably lying there after their water tower disappeared. The main fountain which he and Pearl sat on only held a fraction of the deposited materials. The boy carefully leaned forward, noting worriedly that even the water near the base of this fountain was beginning to run shallow. 

“I didn’t even know there was sand underneath all that water,” he said quietly. 

“There usually isn’t,” Pearl answered distractedly. She was attempting - and failing spectacularly - to pluck apart the heap before her, piece-by-piece. “That’s what worries me. If an entire fountain had collapsed - which is already concerning - then there wouldn’t be sand. It’s not like this room is the beach. It should just be the regular floor.” 

Steven stood up and turned to face Pearl again. He tilted his head. 

“How do you know?” 

“Because I made sure of it when I built this room.” She was walking around the heap of metal, apparently having given up dismantling it, settling upon studying it instead. “At the time we were initially designing our allotted areas of the temple, I had only just begun to learn psammokinesis.” 

Steven blinked. 

“Salmon what?” 

“Psammokinesis.” Her gem glowed as it projected a holographic image of a memory from a long time ago. “The ability to manipulate sand.” Recognition dawned in the boy and he grinned nostalgically. Amethyst and Pearl were playing checkers, and Steven was playing referee. He was also throwing water balloons, much to Amethyst’s delight and Pearl’s chagrin. The topic of fusion came up and the older gems explained the then-unfamiliar concept to their eager young charge. During the explanation, hologram Pearl knelt on the beach and conjured two small figures out of the sand grains. Sandy replicas of Pearl and Amethyst danced towards one another before forming Opal. Amethyst promptly stomped her out, and the hologram dissipated too. 

“Ohhh, yeah, I remember now!” Steven’s eyes turned into stars and he pressed his hands to his cheeks. “I was just so caught up in the excitement of learning about fusion that I almost forgot you could that. Pearl, you should totally do it more, it was so cool!” He scratched his chin. “We can have a sandcastle building competition or something. You’d win, hands down!”

Pearl chuckled.

“I am not so sure about that. While I learned enough to use in a pinch, unfortunately, my grasp of psammokinesis is still mostly rudimentary.”

“What do you mean? Looked pretty impressive to me.”

A blush came over Pearl’s cheeks and nose. She smiled proudly. 

“Yes well, thank you, Steven. I worked very hard. But still, it’s a skill I could never fully master. Keeping a substance in my room which I could control, but unpredictably, would have been too great a risk. I decided it wasn’t worth it. If I ever needed to practice, the sand on the beach would suffice.”

“Plus,” Steven lamented, shaking his head, "sand gets _everywhere_ ". 

“Yes, that too,” Pearl agreed gravely. “The point is, if there was no water here, you would just see the temple floor. Whatever caused an entire fountain to up and disappear _also_ dumped a bunch of sand here. I just don’t understand why.”

“Weird…” 

“Indeed!” 

The two exchanged a glance. Pearl sighed and placed a firm hand on Steven’s shoulder. 

“Well, this mess certainly won't be cleaned up any time soon. It won't do to sit around and brood over it forever. How about we get to your training? Connie should be on her way.” 

Smiling up at her, Steven took his guardian's hand, and the two walked to the living room. 

~o~o~o~o~o~

Garnet didn’t really need to book a hotel room, being inorganic and all. But Steven had insisted, and Greg generously offered to pay for lodging, so she decided to do it anyway. For the experience. 

(She owed Greg big time, not just for the hotel, but also taking care of Cat Steven. And many other things over the years. She would make it up to him somehow.) 

She stood before a pair of sliding glass doors and looked up to verify that she was at the right place. The hotel was situated in a modest-sized parking lot, partly filled with vehicles. Inside the glass doors was a tidy, minimally-decorated lobby, accented with carefully curated pieces of furniture. Well-groomed staff members at the front desk answered phone calls and greeted guests as they passed by. 

Steven’s voice echoed in Garnet’s head. 

_“And don’t forget the coffee! Make sure they have a coffee machine in the lobby, so that you can have something to drink for breakfast,”_ he had told her. _“I mean, they’ll probably have one in your room, but the more the merrier, right?”_

Garnet scanned the lobby for any sign of the aforementioned apparatus. Sure enough, there it was on a table some distance away from the entrance. She nodded in satisfaction. This was the place. 

After entering the building, she remembered she was still wearing the rainbow flag. She considered removing it, but discarded the idea. Wearing the flag was nice. It made her feel… important. Thankfully, the hotel staff were very gracious and welcoming, never batting an eye at her multicolored adornment. 

They also did not bat an eye at the fact that one guest was checking into a room reserved for two. Odd, and potentially dangerous, but Garnet figured it was to her advantage in this situation. 

She took the elevator to the third floor, where she swiped into a room at the end of a narrow corridor. The room had the standard furnishings: a single queen bed, television, telephone, lamp, fridge, (another) coffeemaker, table with a chair, and two cushioned lounge chairs. She placed her briefcase on the table and uncloaked herself, resting the rainbow flag on top of the briefcase. 

Near the entrance there was a closet with a collapsible ironing table, across from a small, but neat bathroom. Neither of which she would actually need, but she was charmed anyway. She thought of the toilet back home, and smiled fondly as she pictured Amethyst attempting to flush herself down it. No doubt the gem would try that here, as well. Or maybe she would go all out and shape-shift into a toilet. Again. 

On the other side of the room, the window curtains were open, revealing that the Sun was out, even after 10 pm. Garnet marveled at the sight (so different from her home in Beach City) for a few moments before drawing the curtains closed and coming to sit on the edge of the bed. She allowed a gentle glow to envelope her and eventually fade, leaving two little gems in its wake. Behind them, the remainder of the bed, which rested against the wall, seemed massive. Strange, it had seemed perfectly fine to Garnet. 

“Sapphy, am I the only one feeling really small here?” Ruby’s legs dangled far above the floor. “I mean, look how high up my feet are!” 

“It _is_ a queen size mattress,” Sapphire said gently. She was sitting beside Ruby cross-legged, gloved hands folded neatly in her lap. 

“Well,” Ruby said happily, “at least we don’t actually need to sleep.” She dropped backwards onto the mattress, so that she was lying down with her face to the ceiling. She rested her hands comfortably on her stomach. “Though maybe we could take a cue from Amethyst,” Ruby added after some consideration.

Sapphire snorted at the sight of her wife’s calves still drooping over the edge. She brought one hand to her mouth to cover the tiny giggles bubbling up out of her. 

“Oh, you’re laughing at me?” Ruby growled playfully. “You think this is funny?”

“Not at all. I’m being _very_ serious.” Sapphire’s shoulders were shaking with laughter. Ruby rolled her eyes affectionately, letting out a little puff. 

When Sapphire had finally managed to calm down, she joined Ruby in lying on the bed. They turned to face one another. 

“I’m so excited for this week,” Ruby said, reaching out to stroke Sapphire’s cheek. 

“Me too. Getting to spend this time with you means the world to me.” The blue gem’s expression was soft as she leaned into the familiar solidity of Ruby’s gem pressing against her face. “I want to cherish it as much as possible. Things are going to be hectic when we get back. We’ll have to hit the ground running.”

Ruby grinned. She rested her forehead against Sapphire’s. 

“Sounds like business as usual to me.” 

“Nothing we can’t handle.” Sapphire’s voice was tender. 

“Together,” Ruby agreed. 

They leaned forward and pressed their lips together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For any Desi people (or general Bollywood fans) out there, the title of this chapter came from the lyrics of one of my favorite songs: 
> 
> जईओ तुम जहाँ-जहाँ, देखियो वहाँ-वहाँ  
> यही इक समाँ कि धरती यहाँ  
> है पहने सात रंगों की चूनरिया
> 
> There is something so mysteriously magical about rainbows, and this little line always reminds me of the love I have for Mother Nature’s colorful creations. Plus the words just sound so good, sonically speaking. 
> 
> I want a _saath rangon ki chunariya_. 
> 
> Much love if you know this classic song! <3


End file.
